There was something sensational about winter weather, when the temperature begins to cool and the air becomes thinner and crisper. For many parts of the country winter weather can be a nightmare of random chance, while others have to settle for blizzards and mountains of snow. In northern California, the winters were always tepid, with many still being able to enjoy the leisures of the outdoors with only slight discomfort.
All the residents of Sacramento had to worry about were rain showers, mildly chilly weather, and the occasional densely foggy mornings which made navigating the valley roads somewhat hazardous. The sound of metal pinging fills the afternoon air, as it echoes across the open fairway of a golf course located right on the outskirts of the city. An older gentleman with graying hair places a tee into the ground and takes a practice swing. He lines up his shot and smacks the ball, sending it right over a large stream.
“Look at that! Nice shot old man,” said a younger man in his late thirties as he watches the ball land right on the edge of the fairway and the rough on the other side.
It was a tough par 4; a stream which ate into a low valley separated the rest of the hole as it doglegged to the right. Shoot the ball too far and it wound up in the rough; shoot the ball too short and it wound up in the water.
“Nah that was just a lucky shot; you’ve been kicking my ass all day.”
“We’ll see though. If I don’t make par, you’re bound to catch me,” the younger man said as he lines up his club.
He swings and sends the ball over the stream, but instead of dropping and rolling towards the fairway, it draws to the left towards the rough and lands on the top of the dog leg. The man curses before hopping into the golf cart.
Kenneth Crimson smiles to himself,
“You’re starting to swing like an old granny, Laxus. Keep it up and you’ll lose.”
“Keep talking old man; I’m going to laugh when your next shot goes into the sand,” he says dismissively.
Laxus Vermillion grumbles as he makes his way over to his ball; he was nearly out of bounds. Taking his time he lines up his shot and swings, watching as his ball flies down the fairway towards the hole. Further down Kenneth lines up his shot and swings, but this time the ball fades to the right and lands in a sand trap right in front of the green.
“Dammit,” he curses as he slams the head of his club onto the ground.
The two men were getting close to the end of the course and Laxus was leading by two strokes, but a bogey at the end of the previous hole cut that lead in half. The two men tee off for the final time, with Kenneth again taking the advantage.
“So, I heard Celeste is returning to the ring soon,” the older man said, trying to make small talk.
“That’s the plan…” said Laxus, lining up his shot. He swings, only for the ball to go sailing into the rough once more. He curses in frustration, and turns back towards his father in law.
“…She really seems to have her heart set on it this time.”
Kenneth smiles; Celeste had always been a charismatic little girl. Growing up he would have always thought she would have become an actress or even a politician with her ability to reach people through her actions and words. His wife Mikayla had been a world class champion of martial arts and had taught Celeste everything she had known about fighting.
‘I suppose it was only natural for Celeste to want to chase you after you died, Mikayla.’
When her mother died, Celeste put her own dreams on hold because she wanted to carry on her mother’s legacy. She traveled the world for years fighting and winning tournament after tournament, but he could see how bored his daughter was becoming with the lifestyle.
“I remember when she told me she first wanted to become a pro wrestler…” Kenneth says as he drives the golf cart to the green.
“…I guess it was more relief than anything else. I could tell she wasn’t really happy being a world class fighter; that was Mikayla’s life, not hers.”
Laxus gets out of the cart, walks over to his ball, lines up his shot, and chips his ball onto the edge of the green.
“Celeste and I first started dating right after she first made her debut with WZCW; I think she had some sort of angry schizophrenic type of gimmick. I thought the role was a bit farfetched myself, but she sold it well.”
“She seemed so happy,” said Kenneth.
“Even though the travel schedule was nightmarish.”
Celeste suffered from depression and manic paranoia while traveling on the road which eventually started to drive a wedge between herself, her husband, her father, and her extended family. She ultimately made the decision to take a break from pro wrestling. During that time period she reconnected herself to her family members, and conceived and gave birth to a son.
“I think she can handle herself a little better now,” said Laxus.
“Nero has gotten to the point where he doesn’t need her as much anymore.”
Kenneth chips his ball onto the green and watches with wide eyes as the ball hits the pin, bounces off, and rolls down a small slope a mere ten feet from the hole. Laxus curses as he lines up his putt; unfortunately his trajectory curved more to the right than he realized as he watches the ball whiz straight by the hole.
‘I sink this next shot and the match is mine,’ Kenneth smirks to himself.
“Anyway, I’m in good position with my work right now and I don’t really need her around to help me keep an eye on him,” said the younger man.
“I’ll be around if you need me,” said his father in law as he lines up his putt.
“It’s not like I have anything better to do with my time now that I’m retired.”
“Gee thanks,” he replies sarcastically.
“You have to make this shot if you want to win old man.”
Kenneth smirks,
“You’re good Laxus, but not good enough to beat me yet.”
He swings and taps the ball gently across the green. Laxus watches in disbelief as the ball catches the slight bank perfectly and rolls into the hole.
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Unlike the weather in Sacramento, the winter season has taken a brutal toll on the city of Eugene, Oregon. Bitter cold air coupled with freezing rain and chilling wind has made this an absolutely abysmal city to visit this time of year; however, one particular pro wrestling company has made it their mission to bring entertainment and joy to the citizens so that they can at least justify spending a night out.
Becky Serra waits outside of the arena in the loading area; it was dark, she was freezing, and was starting to grow weary. She looks along the drop off at the row of taxies, limos, and coach busses which ferried all the superstars from the airport to the arena. Her guest of honor was late.
‘Wait here Becky, they say. Well I’ve been waiting here for two hours!’
Tonight was the local house show scheduled to take place before the next event; it was an important show for many superstars. With entry into the Lethal Lottery and a possible shot at the world title at stake hanging in the balance, many superstars were on edge.
‘Where could she be? If I have to wait any longer, I might freeze to death,’ she shivers, and pulls her coat tighter against her body.
Out of the corner of her eye, she finally spots her guest of honor getting out of a taxi that had just pulled into the drop off. She runs over as quickly as she can, her heels clacking loudly against the damp asphalt.
“Celeste, over here!”
Celeste turns as she wrestles her sports duffle bag out of the trunk of the taxi, and slings it over her shoulder.
“So you’ll be first one to interview me, eh Becky?”
The brunette nods,
“That’s right.”
While Celeste’s return had been a mark-out moment of nostalgia for Becky, she was being hesitant because she really didn’t know what to expect. Celeste’s temper was well known, as was her arrogance. Last time Becky had tried to interview her, the tension in the room had been so thick one could practically cut it with a knife. But watching Ascension Becky saw something that she’d thought she’d never she… Celeste had offered her hand to an opponent… a rare sign of respect from someone she sometimes considered to be a real life sociopath.
“F-follow me,” she stumbles.
“I’m freezing my butt off out here.”
Celeste follows Becky into the arena and to the back of the production stage, down a set of corridors, and to a row of offices located on the adjacent side of the main entrance. Becky reaches into her coat pocket and fumbles with a set of keys. The spacious room had been prearranged for interviews earlier that evening, and for the past few hours Becky has done nothing but cater to one arrogant dick wrestler after the other. She was beginning to wonder if there were any decent people left in WZCW… but she wasn’t about to hold her breath with Celeste.
Becky maneuvers Celeste in front of the backdrop as one of the cameramen gets into position, anxiously ready to get what was, hopefully, the last interview for the evening over with. He motions for Becky to start, who stares into the camera with a smile on her face.
“Hello all you WZCW fans, Becky Serra here with the returning Celeste Crimson,” she turns and points the microphone towards her guest.
“I think the first thing that the fans have been dying to know is what have you been doing these past couple of years, and what made you decide to return to action after all this time?”
“I’ve always been a performer Becky; even though I was trained as a fighter, I was born to be a pro wrestler,” said Celeste.
“I love this business, and upon my return I felt disheartened after seeing this once glorious company being plunged into chaos. The main reason why I’ve returned is to restore order.”
“The promos behind the 1-14-12 return had the entire locker room buzzing for quite some time, and now we know that those were meant for you. I am curious about the symbolism behind the snake, and the sword, and the world title. What does it all mean?”
“In many mythology’s the snake represents disorder, trickery, and deceit; whether it be Satan in Christianity, Hades in Greek mythos, Loki in Norse mythos, or the Tanuki in Shintoism… all of them wear the same masks…”
“… masks that sow the seeds of chaos and turns civility upside down. I see so many men committing all of these acts of treachery just because they believe that it might give them an edge on the competition in the days to come, and quite frankly I’m sick of it.”
“So in the promo the figure slaying the snake represents you putting a stop to all the chaos?”
“And not just that Becky, I want to win the WZCW title so that I can be a role model to those that covet peace and harmony, and become a beacon of hope to those that need it the most so that I can keep them from being consumed by the darkness. Take Jack Skinner for example, my opponent from Ascension. He’s got plenty of talent, but he seems to be down on his luck lately…”
“…It’s not about winning or losing Jack,” Celeste explains.
“It’s about the passion that you have inside of your heart. I saw it when we fought, and I know that you’ll be destined for greatness here… as long as you don’t become frustrated and allow yourself to be lost inside of your own hatred.”
From there the promo begins to shift gears, with Becky asking questions about the one thing that fans all over the nation wanted to see more than anything at all… Celeste Crimson… back in a wrestling ring.
“This next match is an important one for you Celeste,” said Becky.
“In order for you to make it to the Lethal Lottery, and a potential shot at the WZCW title you need to win this match.”
Celeste nods in agreement,
“I have been preparing both physically and emotionally for my first match back, and I can say I certainly drew a most interesting opponent in Dr. Alhazred…”
“…I’ve been following the Apostles of Chaos rise to power on my television for weeks now.”
She shakes her head,
“I never would have guessed that someone like Ty Burna could have garnered so much support behind him. The man faced challenge after challenge and turned back every single one of them, claiming to draw strength from the chaos. And even when he did lose the title, it wasn’t enough to break his spirit. He came back with a vengeance, and now he holds power over the company… power to do nearly anything he wants, and I can’t just let that slide…”
Celeste turns and stares straight into the camera, as Becky readjusts the microphone.
“… Ty Burna has never faced anything like me before, he is a false prophet who's teachings will only lead to madness and suffering. This next week on Meltdown I plan on making an example out of his disciple.”
She continues to speak passionately; letting the words flow naturally off the tip of her tongue. To Becky this was a passionate side of Celeste that she really hadn’t seen before; it was somewhat baffling.
“Dr. Alhazred is nothing more than Burna’s puppet, I see it every single week on television. For all of Burna’s promises of power Alhazred has virtually nothing to show for it other than acting as an insurance policy. Once Burna has no more use for him he will dispose of Alhazred like yesterday’s garbage, and then where will he go? Will he continue to embrace chaos, or will he finally see Ty for the lying scumbag that he is and learn to swim. Chaos is an ocean deep, Alhazred, and you’re already submerged; how much longer will it be before you drown?”
Becky was nearly speechless. Did Celeste actually care about her opponent? Normally the woman couldn’t have cared less; her ego had been so massive that it seemed like she was alone atop her own pedestal.
“After I defeat Dr. Alhazred I will go on to Lethal Lottery where I will defeat 24 other men to earn a title shot, and afterwards, at Kingdom Come, I will become the first woman to hold the WZCW championship!”
Celeste begins to slow her speech, putting careful emphasis on each word…
“I was called back here to rid this company of evil, and I will not be denied… cosmos will reign over chaos at Meltdown…”
Celeste finishes as the camera cuts off. Becky lowers the microphone as an uncomfortable silence fills the room.
“C-Celeste can I ask you something?” she asks.
“Sure.”
“Why did you really come back? I know the company is in a really bad situation right now, but surely there must have been another reason for you to return other than to restore order.”
“There was,” Celeste says followed by a light chuckle.
“I’m not just doing this because I want to; I’m doing it so that I can set a good example for my son, so that someday he won’t repeat the same mistakes that I did. The powers of chaos only lead to pain and misery, and I've experienced plenty. Physically I can’t feel pain, but I can feel it emotionally. My heart can sense this company crying out for someone to save it, and I will… simply because it is the right thing to do.”
Celeste grabs her bag and turns to leave; all Becky can do is silently watch her go.
